Lets take a look at the network
hardware communication standards supported by various types of twisted
pair cable. Before we continue, pay close attention to the following
tip that explains how the cable name provides hints about its capabilities
and performance:

Ethernet Cable Standard Name Clues

Cable nomenclature carries coding within the name. Look at the cable name for test information. For example, take 10Base5.

The 10 means 10 Mb/sec for transmission rate. Some cable types may specify 100 or even 1000 as their specified transmission rate.

Base means baseband communications, as opposed to broadband. Baseband is typically slower than broadband communications. Baseband indicates a single digital signal is carried on the cable, whereas broadband can carry multiple digital signals, as with cabling that supplies a neighborhood with cable TV.

The 2 is roughly 200 meters, while the 5 equals 500 meters. Originally, the standard intended to name cables based on the maximum length of a cable segment, however this idea broke down over time, and 10Base2 and 10Base5 are the most well known cabling technologies named according to that standard.

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